By: Kadyn Thompson
Co Sports Editor
The Ridgeview Wolf Pack girls wrestling team is starting off the season well, with mental and physical strength, and refusing to give up on the fight, no matter what. With the beginnings of the season underway, the team hasn’t fought many schools, but has fought with Highland High School, which was arguably the hardest school to face in their opinion. They’re currently being led by Coach Angelica Llanes, who’s preparing her wrestlers for the very worst and making them their absolute best.
The wrestlers seem to be motivated and are close with each other, even better knit together than the boys wrestlers, as when asked about their team chemistry, wrestler Nicole Armendariz said, “We’re really strong as a team. Our girls’ team, I feel like, is definitely a lot closer compared to the boys team. As girls, we always come together when we need each other.”
Practice for this season is also running smoothly, concisely and according to plan as when asked about her coach and what she learned from her, player Layna Smith said, “Well, I mean, besides from wrestling, I’ve learned that I need to stay dedicated to what I do. I can’t be skipping practice just because I want to. I have to be there.”
A disadvantage that the girls wrestling team is facing though is that most of their veterans have graduated, or have not returned, as now mostly new players are on the team, trying their best and clearly making their mark in their own special way. When asked about the girls, Coach Garza, the boys wrestling coach said, “They’re always outgoing. They always show good spirit. Every time you go in a practice room… They’re always showing up with miles and energy and ready to learn new things and push themselves.”
A good mindset that has seemed to infect all of the girls as well has been the urge to keep on fighting, no matter how bad the odds were. For example, Armendariz spoke about how last year, she tore her left hamstring while playing volleyball earlier in the school year, and wrestled injured for half the season, while her whole leg was giving out. In a tournament in December, while wanting to give up, she pushed on for about 5 more seconds, which was all she needed to win the match by hitting a reversal, even through all the pain. Even battered and bruised, weary and wounded, these girls just don’t give up.
Roxana Canedo says she stays motivated by, “My team. I talk to them…and then my parents, I talk to them about…what’s going on, and then they just talk to me about it.”
The girls’ wrestling team seem to be going quite far this season. They are determined to use that aggressiveness and energy in their season to fuel them. Hopefully, with some luck but also their own skills and strategies, they can come back to Ridgeview as champions, and out on top.
